Insulated conductor and method of coating the same



A. P. HINSKY Aug. ,6, 1935.

INSULATED CONDUCTOR AND METHOD OF COATING THE SAME Filed Feb. '24, 1933XTMRNE? Patented Aug. 6, 1935 PATENT OFFICE INSULATED CONDUCTOR ANDLMETHOD F COATING THE SAME Anthony P. Hinsky, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor,by

mesne assignments, to Pyro- Products Corporation, Brooklyn, N. Y., acorporation of New York ' Application February 24, 1933, Serial No.658,369 3 Claims. (Cl. 91-70) This invention relates to electricinsulated conductors, and particularly, to improvedcoatingmaterial ormaterials applied to the conductor especi ally to give predetermined ordesired color value thereto, and to the novel method of applying thecoatings; and the object of the invention is to incorporate in thesaturant employed for waterproof ing the conductor and/ or renderingthesame flame resistant, a desired coloring material which will modifyor vary the color of the saturant and operate to maintain in an outercolored coating the desired color value; a further object being to soapply the saturant and coloring material to the conductor so as todistribute the coloring material throughout the conductor and to form insome instances a deposit of the coloring material upon the conductor andsubstantially covering the saturant; a further object being to employ amethod of applying a combined saturant and coloring material to aninsulated conductor by maintaining the coloring material in suspensionor distribution in the saturant or wherein the coloring material isprecipitated to the bottom of a saturating tank and the conductor passedtherethrough in the application of the coloring material to theconductor; and with these and other objects in view, the inventionconsists in a conductor of the class and for the purpose spec ifiedwhich is treated and coated in accordance with the method hereinaftermore fully described and claimed.

The invention is fully disclosed in the following specification, ofwhich the accompanying drawing forms a part, the separate parts of myimprovement being designated by suitable reference characters in each ofthe views, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the method of treating andcoating electric insulated conductors as illustrated in Fig. 2 of thedrawing; and, Fig. 2 is a view of a part of a conductor diagrammatically illustrating the application of the saturants and coatingsthereto.

For the purpose of illustrating one method of carrying my invention intoeifect, I have shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing an electric insulatedconductor treated with a plurality of materials or coatings according tothe method which is diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. l of thedrawing. It will be understood that this method and the conductorproduced thereby is illustrative of only one method of carrying myinvention into effect.

In Fig. 2 of the drawing, 5 represents a wire; 6 a rubber or otherjacket of insulating material;

l a casing of braided or other form of fibrous material; 8 and 8arepresent a combined saturant and color material; 9 a powderedsubstance, such for example, as sodium bicarbonate, sodium tungstate,sodium carbonate and the like; l0 an opaque colored compound forming thecolor finisher which may be of any desired consistency and including awax base; and at l I, I have shown a final coating which may consist ofparaflin or wax of the clear or transparent type, or may include a colorconsistent with the color of the coating ID, or said outer coating maybe of any non-sticky characteristics depending upon the particular typeof conductor produced and the use for which it is intended.

While I have shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing, the production of aconductor with several coatings of materials applied thereto,jit will beunderstood that the invention is not necessarily limited to the use ofthe powdered substance 9, nor to the final coating II and either or bothof these coatings may be eliminated. I

i In order to illustrate one method of treating or coating a conductorto produce the result shown in Fig. 2, I have diagrammaticallyillustrated in Fig. 1 a series of tanks or containers through which theconductor is passed in the treatment thereof. In order that thisillustration may be clear, the substances in the tanks or containers arerepresented by the same reference characters as applied to the coatingsshown in Fig. 2 of the drawing. For example, the tank or vat l2 containsthe saturant 8 and color material 8a; the hopper l3 contains thepowdered substance 9; the tank [4, the compound l0; the tank IS, thefinal coating material II. The wire 5 with the jackets and casings 6 and1 thereon coming from a spool or drum l6 enters the tank l2 and passesdownwardly around a sheave or guide roller across the tank, and upwardlyand downwardly around an-.

other roller l8, then backwardly and upwardly around a roller Ila at oneside of the roller l1,

and then downwardly into the tank, and around a guide roller l9 and outthrough one end of the tank and a wiper 20 attached thereto. I have alsoindicated at 2|, heating tubes disposed in the-tank I 2 to maintain thematerials 8, 8:: at the proper temperature.

If the powdered substance 9 is not employed, it will be understood thatthe wire coated with the materials 8, 8a will pass directly into thetank I, and as shown in the accompanying drawing, the coated wire entersthe hopper l3 and passes around a roller 22 therein out through thehopper and over a guide roller 23, and then into the tank M and aroundtwo rollers 24 and 25 in said tank. In passing from the tank M, the wireis passed through a suitable device 28 for ironing out and/ordistributing the compound I ii on the conductor, and this may be done inaccordance with the teachings disclosed in my 'prior Patent No.1,890,292, granted to me December 6, 1932, or as disclosed in my priorapplications bearing Serial Numbers 608,933, filed May 3, 1932 and640,617, filed November 1, 1932.

From the device or unit 26, the conductor may be wound onto a receivingreel or drum 271 or if the coating ii is employed in the structureshown, may be passed downwardly around a roller 28 in the tank l andthus onto said receiving drum Z'l. It will be noted that suitableheaters 29 and 30 are employed for the respective tanks I4 and i5 tomaintain the compounds or coatings at the desired temperature. It willbe understood at this time, that the colored compound l0 and the finalcoating ll when employed may be of the types and characters defined inand forming the subject matter of my prior Patent No. 1,887,851, grantedto me November 15, 1932.

'The present invention resides primarily in the application of thecombined saturant and coloring material .8, 8a to conductors of thegeneral class described, and especially to conductors made according tothe disclosure herein set forth.

In the disclosure as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing, as the wire coveredwith the jacket ii and casing I passes through the upper portion of thetank I2 containing the saturant 8, the saturant is applied thereto tothoroughly impregnate the fibres of the casing I, and is then passedthrough the bottom of the tank containing the coloring material 8a whichforms a coating over the saturant, and substantially commingles with thesaturant by virtue of the fact that the two elements are combined undersubstantially the same temperature, and in some instances, dependinglargely upon the nature of the coloring material 8a, the latter willform a coating of relatively clear color value upon the conductor. Itwill also be apparent that the wiper 20 will serve to press or force thepigment into the saturant and the interstices of the braid.

At this time, it is well to state that the color of the coating 8a. caneither be consistent with that of the outer coloring l0l i, or.of alight ground color which would aid in maintaining the light, clear colorvalue of light coatings Ill, such for example as white, yellow, pink,cream, light blues, greens, etc. For example, a white pigment may beemployed in the coloring material 8a, and while the resulting coatingformed thereby may not necessarily be pure white, would nevertheless, beof a light color and might assume alight grayish tinge, and the samewould be true in applying any other light pigments such as yellow,wherein the resulting coating might represent a lighttan color uponeither of which a similar or other light color may be" reproduced in aclear color value in the outer colored casing it.

In the use of my invention, the saturant, it it possesses the waterproofand fire repellent characteristics usually desirable in products of theclass under consideration, will be of a dark or substantially blackcolor, and for this reason, the advisability and practicability of thecolor coating 8a is desirable. The saturant may be of the usual andcommonly employed types of materials including asphalt, pitch and thelike, and the colored material will include any combination with thedesired colored pigment of natural or synthetic waxes and natural orsynthetic resins, and I find that numerous combinations of variousingredients are possible inthe production of a compound of coloringmaterial which will be applicable to the insulated conductor treatedwith the saturant.

While, in the accompanying drawing, I have shown one specificarrangement, it is nevertheless within the scope of my invention to havethe coloring material or compound arranged in the saturant in suspensionso as to be applicable to the insulated conductor in its passage throughthe combined saturant and compound bath. In this method of procedure,however, a greater commingling of the saturant and compound 8, 8a willbe established, as will be apparent, thus materially darkening the colorvalue of the pigment in the compound 8, whereas with the method asillustrated in Fig. 1, the color value of the pigment 812 as applied tothe conductor will be relatively clear and darkened only slightly.Therefore, the latter process would be deemed more desirable for use inthe production of light colors in the coating it, whereas the formermethod of production would be suitable in the production of the darkercolor values.

It will also be understood that in treating the fibrous jacket ofconductors of the class under consideration according to my invention,the heated. pigmented saturant will penetrate the 11- brous jacket themajor portion of the saturant penetrating through the jacket, whereaspart of the pigment may penetrate the jacket, and the re- 'mainingportion thereof acts as a filler disposed on the outside of the jacketand filling the interstices of the braid, as will be apparent. This isespecially true with the method of treating the conductor as shown inFig. 1 of the drawing, wherein the pigment has precipitated to thebottom of the tank, and the conductor is passed therethrough after beingsubjected to the saturant in the tank.

It will also be understood that the use of the powdered material 9 onthe conductor. treated with the pigmented saturant 8, 811 will aid inproducing the clear, light color values in the finisher or compound ill,especially in employing light, powdered substances, but here again, thispowdered substance is not absolutely necessary and need not be employedin producing the darker color values in the finisher.

It will be apparent that the pigmented saturant is applied to thefibrous jacket at a predetermined temperature, and the finisher coatingas well as the outer, final transparent or nonsticky coating may also beapplied at substantially the same temperatures so as to establish.between all of the coatings when applied to the conductor a comminglingwhich will prevent cracking or flaking of the separate coatings andwhich will establish a secure binding with the fibrous jacket when theconductor is subjected to the bending in the use thereof. It will beunderstood, however, that in the use of some colored finishers, thequestion of relative temperatures is not a factor, and these finishersor outer coatings may be applied in any desired manner or in accordancewith the various methods known in the art. This also applies to thepowdered substance when employed, and in this connection, it will alsoappear that the powdered substance when applied may be heated.

It will be understood that my invention is not necessarily limited tothe production of conductors of the specific type herein disclosed, noram I limited to the use of any particular type of compounds or saturantsin the treatment of the conductor to provide the colored coatingthereon, and various other changes in and modifications of the structurehere-in disclosed and method defined may be made within the scope of theappended claims without departing from the spirit of my invention orsacrificing its advantages.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

1. The process of treating the fibrous covering of an insulated electricconductor which consists in passing the insulated conductor into andthrough a tank containing a dark saturant and a pigment of light colorprecipitated to the bottom of the tank, passing the conductor firstthrough the top of the tank to apply the saturant thereto, and thenthrough the precipitated pigment at the bottom of the tank and outthrough the bottom of the tank to provide on the resulting conductor asaturated fibrous covering with a light colored pigment deposit thereon,and then applying other light colored coating material to the insulatedconductor thus treated.

2. The process of treating the fibrous covering of an insulated electricconductor which consists in passing the insulated conductor into andthrough a tank containing a dark saturant and a pigment of light colorprecipitated to the bottom of the tank, passing the conductor firstthrough the top of the tank to apply the saturant thereto, and thenthrough the precipitated pigment at the bottom of the tank and outthrough the bottom of the tank to provide on the resulting conductor asaturated fibrous covering with a light colored pigment deposit thereon,heating the pigmented saturant in its application to said covering, thenapplying a light colored opaque compound to the conductor treated withthe pigmented saturant to provide a desired color to the conductor, andthen applying an outer final coating of parafiine to said coloredcompound.

3. The process of treating the fibrous covering of an insulated electricconductor which consists in passing the insulated conductor into andthrough a tank containing a dark saturant and a pigment of light colorprecipitated to the bottom of the tank, passing the conductor firstthrough the top of the tank to apply the saturant thereto, and thenthrough the precipitated pigment at the bottom of the tank and outthrough the bottom of the tank to provide on the resulting conductor asaturated fibrous covering with a light colored pigment deposit thereon,then applying a powdered substance to the conductor thus treated, thenapplying a light colored opaque compound to the conductor treated withsaid powdered substance to envelop and mask the conductor thus treated,and then applying an outer final coating of colored wax-like material tothe conductor, the. color of the final coating being consistent withthat of said colored compound.

ANTHONY P. HINSKY.

